Rating: 
Summary: This game deserves an Oscar!!
Review: I never played the first Max Payne, you don't need too. This game is awesome. The story is awesome. The graphics are awesome. By far, my favorite game. And too be perfectly honest, I think the game is plenty long enough. The length of the game fits the story nicely. Anything longer would just seem to drag it out.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Game...but isn't there more?
Review: This is definitely one of the best shooter games I have played in a while. It surpasses the original in many ways and lived up to my somewhat lofty expectations in nearly all areas. However, it was not without its share of problems.Graphics: The graphics and visual effects in this game are absolutely astounding. The weapons, muzzle flashes, characters, environments, explosions, and vehicles (though to a lesser degree there) all look beautiful. The "ragdoll" effect given to the dead bodies and the ability to knock over and interact with almost everything in Max's environment also add to the realism and intensity. 10/10 Sound: The audio in this title is also very good. I am fortunate enough to have a surround sound audio setup for my computer and the 3D audio worked great. I have played extensively on systems with only two speakers or headphones as well and the game sounds just as amazing. There are a few spots where the audio became just a bit fuzzy and in addition, Max's internal dialog during gameplay wasn't very loud over my center channel - often being drowned out by the ambient noise or gunfire (the latter being much more understandable than the former). 8/10 Gameplay: This is where, in my opinion, the game suffered. The technical aspects of gameplay (i.e. moving around, shooting, interacting with Max's environment, basically playing the game) were flawlessly executed. However, while I wasn't expecting a storyline of Tolkien-esque depth and complexity, you don't really need to watch any of the cutscenes or read any of the story boards to know what is going to happen next. It can be summed up very simply: "You go to X location where there are more cleaners and/or mafia goons. You have to take them all out without dying - sometimes with Max and sometimes with Mona." There is no variation on gameplay, without even the cliche "stealth" level that usually involves merely switching to silenced weapons before mowing down legions of foes. The length of the game was also an issue with me. I got it home and three and a half hours later I sat watching the end credits and scratching my head, wondering where the rest of my $50 went. 5.5/10 Still, this was most definitely one of the best games I've played recently and is a worthy addition to anyone's collection. I loved every one of the tens of minutes it took me to finish it but I now find myself wondering how much EB will be willing to give me for a trade-in... Overall...
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 5.5/10
Rating:
Summary: A True Continuation of the Original
Review: Max Payne 2 is everything the first one was in terms of production value and fun. If you liked the first, you'll enjoy the sequel even more with the added "Havok" physics engine that delivers awesome ragdoll physics. The only thing I missed was the "bullet time" mechanism from the first game. You still get scripted bullet time happening, but not every time you get a head shot. If you happen to own a force feedback mouse like Logitech iFeel, Belkin Nostromo n30 or Saitek Touch Force, play this game using the Immersion Gaming software from the Immersion website and you even get to "feel" the gameplay.
Rating:
Summary: Max Payne II: The Fall of Max Payne
Review: I loved the first game and this sequel is better than the first. Very short but with nice replay value. Amazing graphics, sound and music. Lifelike Charecters. Superb level design. Ragdoll physics are realistic. Bullet time is much better. Mp2 is a story driven game with lots of emotions and an excellent ending. With two endings, one in the Detective difficulty and one in the Hard Boiled difficulty. I have not yet played the others. Max and Mono look different here. I liked the new actors though i liked Mono of the first game more. Dream sequences are very well done and actually feel like a dream. Surprise package is that you can play as Mona Sax in a few levels. Nothing new but i loved it. My system is Win98SE, P4 2.4Ghz, 512mb Ram, GeForceFx. Mp2 runs great with no problems. Max Payne 2 is excellent and lives up to the original. One of the best games of the year after Tron 2.0, Splinter Cell and Gta3 Vice City.
Rating:
Summary: Great game.
Review: Although the gameplay itself hasn't changed much from the original Max Payne, that really isn't a problem, since the original game was also a winner. Bullet time has changed for the better, mainly because it is more than just a neat bit of programming. The way it is implemented makes it a necessity, which I thought was lacking in the original. The story is also great, though sometimes the unending "lines" that Max pulls out can get a little old or seem a little canned. Music is amazing as well, the credits song is a nice addition and ends the game very well. I am just glad to see a game that has everything pretty much right on the mark. Music, graphics, engine and story are all very good and the length is something I liked as well. There isn't any need to stretch out a game any longer than the story calls for, think about it, how would the story flow if the programmers decided that Max needed to just fight his way through one more building for no other than just to shoot stuff. There are plenty of game options for shooting people simply to shoot people, and if all you want is to shoot people, play the game again. The story was deep for a 10 - 15 hour game, stretch it out to 30 and its bland and redundant. I'd recommend playing the game.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing as the original except too short.
Review: You really can't find a better game; perfect graphic and sound. Hard to image it's developed by the same company that produced GTA series which I think they are horrible. For an action game, there's nothing more you can ask for. If I really have to come up with something, that'll be too short for the game and a weak story. But who cares that much about story for shooting games?
Rating: 
Summary: Just not good enough
Review: There are two cool things about this game: the cello theme music, and the Havoc engine. The Havoc engine is what makes all the objects in the game interactive. You can move bottles, kick over chairs, blow up cardboard boxes, etc. Almost all of the objects can be interacted with. Unfortunately, the coolness feature of the Havoc engine isn't enough to hold up this game. The story is very weak, and I found myself skipping through it because it was so boring and slow. Max's lines were cliched and tired, and the dialogue was horrible. But then again, perhaps that was the intent. It just didn't win me over. The aiming style takes some getting used to if you've been playing Quake all your life, and the feature of "bullet time" where everything is slowed down (ala Matrix) makes it very easy to dispatch enemies. The other poor design of this game is that you have to beat it to unlock more difficult play modes. Everyone starts off in easy mode and you can only adjust it by going through the entire game once. As for me, I didn't find the game exciting enough to play a second time around, and don't know many people that would. Difficulty settings should have been unlocked from the start. This game would make a great demo to check out the cool effects of the Havoc engine, but as a feature game, it just doesn't hold up.
Rating:
Summary: This game is heavy with emotion!
Review: Max Payne 2, the continuation of Max Payne, is everything I expected it to be. The story is even more driven, deep, and dark then it has ever been with its amazing storyline: it captivates you in such a way that once you finish the game, you're thinking "what a game". Its plot is that influential -- the dialogue and the storyline show to you what undying remorse is like -- the theme of the game. Graphics and gameplay are fantastic with visually stunning detail to everything. You turn on the slow-motion sequense, like in the movies, and you experience gameplay never before seen in any game like this. Once in a while the slow-mo kills of enemies, picture perfect, really adds to the replay value of the game. Graphics, again, are solid and entrancing. The orchestrated music is really taking its effect on making the game show the darkside of Max Payne's life--it is so heartbreaking. And sound isn't generic at all, which makes it even more real for a game like this. This work of art is something you don't want to miss. Not as long as the first Max Payne, but the storyline in this one is painfully shown in each and every step of the way of Max Payne's life. This game has enough amusement that you'll think about how writers create such impressive storylines. The Fall of Max Payne is definitely worth your time and I suggest you get this very deep game!
Rating:
Summary: Bring in the funk, bring in the payne
Review: No question, the most entertaining story for the year. Yes, there are times when I wondered if all the romance was needed, but it developed the characters, and made the game feel like a film noir interactive movie, not a video game. The fighting is fun. The ragdoll bodies made shooting bad guys entertaining, if only just to watch them fall, spin, get knocked back, break joints and so on. And without giving away any story line, fans of the first max payne will be happy to see the inclusion of previous characters, and yes, they are actually developed and not just thrown into the story. Lets honestly talk about what i didn't like and why this game didn't get the full 5 stars. The first is that bullet time 2.0 is cleaned up so well that a gammer like me blew through the game in 6 hours--the fighting was far too easy. I often took my time shooting someone, leting them recover, hitting them again and just watching the rag doll motion. Also like with max payne 1 you cannot progress to higher levels without beating the lower levels. A nice idea, but not everyone wants to run through a game 2 times before getting a chance at real life death. I only was breifly held up for one part in the game the "lets snipe and protect a character" portion that is added into too many games right now. And the hang up was for about 15 minutes late a night until i found my rhythm. But on the plus side, the game is dark, tragic, and gives you a sense of power like only max payne has. To date its the only game i've seen pull off bullet time and that includes "enter the matrix". I loved it, and can't wait to see this game become one of many innovative, entertaining interactive-movies in the max payne series.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing game!!!
Review: Max Payne 2 is harder than the original, but this game is even better than the first. It has a really good story. The gameplay is awsome, and the graphics look really good. Plus there are mods you can get to make the game like The Matrix. You should get this game
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